JCD leader, two others held

Staff Correspondent

Detective Branch of police has arrested three people in the case filed for the December 24 arson attack on a police-requisitioned bus in the capital's Bangla Motor, which left one constable dead and two others injured. On quizzing them, police also came to know about their involvement in the petrol bomb attack on a passenger bus on January 3 in the city's Paribagh. Among the arrestees is Rabiul Islam Nayan, 26, joint convenor of Mohammadpur thana Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) associated with the BNP, said DB Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam at a press briefing at the Dhaka Metropolitan Police media centre yesterday. The two others are Anup Chandra Roy, 24, an LLB final year student of Stamford University, and Zubayer Hossain, 22.

Kalabagan police detained the trio on January 6 when they were blasting crude bombs on CR Dutta road during a countrywide hartal, the DB official said. A case was then filed with Kalabagan Police Station accusing them of blasting bombs. They were shown arrested in the case linked with the Bangla Motor incident after Nayan and Anup had confessed their involvement, according to DB sources. Nayan, riding a red-coloured Pulsar motorbike driven by Anup, hurled a petrol bomb at the police-requisitioned bus hours after the BNP-led alliance's 83-hour blockade ended that day, Monirul said. Constable Ferdaus Khalil was burnt to death on the spot while another constable and driver of the vehicle were injured. DB police, however, did not say as to how Zubayer had been involveed in the incident. Quoting one of the arrestees, Monirul said they had committed the attack as per instructions by two JCD central leaders, while standing nearby, a BNP leader observed the whole thing. Through a rickshaw-puller, a JCD central leader provided Nayan and Anup with the bomb. They had also received money from a former BNP lawmaker who assured them of being rewarded with posts in the JCD metropolitan and private university committee units. The trio along with another accomplice, Rasel, who has been on the run, were also involved in the attack on a running public bus at Paribagh, Monirul said. The incident left private service holder Shahina Akhter and fruit vendor Farid Miah dead and another passenger injured. The four had been given two petrol bombs and ordered to hurl those at the residence of the Dhaka University vice-chancellor, said the DB joint commissioner. Failing to do so amid tight security, they left the area and took position near the Paribagh overbridge. Nayan and Rasel then hurled the bombs at the public bus.